Alumni Insight: Engineering

Written and Photo by Nathan Robichaud

@Nathan_.robichaud

If you have ever met an engineering student at SMU or studied engineering, you may have learned that Saint Mary’s, like many universities within Nova Scotia, does not offer a full engineering program. In fact, the only way to obtain a complete engineering undergraduate degree in Nova Scotia is through Dalhousie University, located a few minutes away on Barrington Street’s Sexton campus. As a result, SMU alumni who graduate from the university’s diploma program attend Dalhousie or finish their studies out of province.

I decided to catch up with a graduate of our engineering diploma program and ask what it would mean to be able to complete an engineering undergrad at SMU. Adam Forward, a Saint Mary's alumni, finishing his degree at Dalhousie University, is working through the 3rd year of an engineering undergraduate degree. Adam comes from a family of engineers, including an older brother who completed a similar engineering diploma program and was eager to catch up and discuss the state of engineering at SMU.

Adam spoke fondly of his time as a student at SMU and enjoyed pursuing engineering while taking advantage of the resources and activities on campus. He specifically mentioned how great it was that the university is interconnected so you can avoid going outside during bad weather with ease. Comparatively, the Dal campus is spread out across the city, which creates a commute for Adam when he wants to hit the gym after class.

“I assume it has to do with resources. They could probably make a full program available in the future, but they would need the class space, technology, and faculty.” Adam was excited to talk about a hypothetical expansion of the Saint Mary’s engineering department and had ideas on how to proceed; “there are seven main disciplines within engineering, but industrial and civil are the most popular and class space is limited at Dalhousie so students that don’t get in would probably benefit from another university providing those programs,” a  valid point considering tuition is more affordable at SMU as well. Investing in the two most popular engineering disciplines would provide an attractive alternative to students already pursuing their studies at the university. Furthermore, it would also provide a starting point the department can use if it aims to expand in the future.   

"I would definitely have finished my degree at SMU if I could," Adam admitted that he wasn’t ready to stop being a student at Saint Mary’s; in fact, he stuck it out for an extra year to complete a science bachelor before transitioning to Dalhousie to finish his engineering degree. I asked him if he was able to make connections with the students at Dal, but he explained that because most students who graduated from the SMU diploma program went to Dal to finish their degree, many of his classmates were the same he had studied with at Saint Mary’s. 

"For me, the only challenge with starting at a new university has been trying to get to know the profs at Dal. I miss the profs at SMU; because the classes were smaller, it was easy to build relationships with them." The average class size at SMU for engineering courses, according to Adam, is around 40. Comparatively, classes at Dalhousie consist of closer to 100 students on average, which means it’s harder to build a relationship with the professors. Understandably, that would create difficulties that students in traditional programs would not have to deal with, especially in a competitive program such as engineering.